Producer
Southwire Company
Southwire Company LLC (private, HQ Carrollton GA; ~$8B+ revenue; founded 1950 by Roy Richards Sr.) is the United States' largest wire and cable manufacturer AND the inventor of the SCR (Southwire Continuous Rod) continuous copper rod casting process (patented 1963). The SCR process — which feeds molten cathode copper into a continuous casting wheel and immediately hot-rolls to 8mm rod — was developed at Carrollton and Southwire licenses SCR technology globally; most of the world's rod mills outside the Properzi licensees use SCR-derived processes. Southwire operates multiple rod mills in the US (Carrollton GA primary; also Hawesville KY, Russellville AR). As the US's dominant domestic rod supplier, Southwire supplies many US cable manufacturers that cannot source elsewhere. Southwire Carrollton faced EPA Superfund listing due to historical copper smelting/refining waste; the site has since been remediated.
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
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Facilities
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Stories
What they make
4 inputs Southwire Company supplies
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manufactured
High-Voltage Transmission Conductors (ACSR/ACCC) →
manufactured
ACSR Overhead Transmission Line Conductors →
manufactured
Copper rod (8mm) →
manufactured
Copper rod (8mm) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Southwire Company makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
2 facilities
Southwire Carrollton Conductor Plant →
USCarrollton, Georgia · manufacturing
Flagship Southwire manufacturing facility; includes wire drawing, rod breakdown, and stranding operations for ACSR and bare aluminum conductors. One of the largest integrated wire and cable plants in the US. Southwire operates its own aluminum rod plant nearby, giving it raw material independence from commodity rod markets.
Southwire Carrollton GA — Rod Mill & Wire Complex →
USGeorgia · manufacturing
Southwire Company primary manufacturing campus, Carrollton, Carroll County, Georgia. Birthplace of the SCR (Southwire Continuous Rod) process (1963). Produces copper rod, aluminum rod, building wire, and overhead transmission conductors. ~400,000+ tonnes/year copper rod capacity. Largest single employer in Carroll County. Historical EPA Superfund designation due to copper smelting/refining waste; cleanup completed. Site operates state-of-the-art rod casting using SCR process descendant equipment. Source: https://www.southwire.com/about/history
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Copper Rod (SCR Process)
25%Building Wire
35%Power Cable & Utilities
25%Industrial & Specialty
15%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2021
Southwire Company of Carrollton, Georgia is simultaneously the United States' dominant civilian copper rod supplier (building wire for homes, commercial buildings) and a direct military supply chain node: the same 8mm copper rod that Southwire draws into NM-B residential cable also becomes mil-spec MIL-W-16878 aircraft wiring, shipboard cable (MIL-DTL-24643), and wiring harnesses for armored vehicles and weapons systems. Southwire holds certifications for military-specification wire and cable and supplies Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and prime defense contractors. Copper rod is the raw material for the electrical system in every US Navy ship, every USAF aircraft, and every US Army ground vehicle. As the dominant domestic US rod supplier, Southwire is a single-vendor risk to US military electrical supply chains. The company is private, family-controlled, and headquartered in a rural Georgia county — the strategic military importance of this Carrollton facility is almost entirely unknown outside the defense industrial base.
IEWC (wire/cable distributor) ↗Concentration2024
Southwire is privately held by the Richards family (founders) and has never gone public. This means there is no public 10-K disclosing its aluminum purchasing volume, manufacturing capacity, or financial position. With ~$8B revenue and ~40% US conductor market share, Southwire is one of the most strategically critical US infrastructure manufacturers with essentially zero public supply chain transparency.
Southwire Company, LLC ↗